'Give me your watch,' James hissed, and then as Ashleigh hesitated, he repeated the order. 'Give me your watch.'
Discreetly as they walked along the deck, Ashleigh slid her hand into her sleeve and reluctantly began to undo her watch. She didn't want to lose it just yet, it was the first time she had been issued with the heavy dialled, black strapped watch by the Q department, and her pride at the instrument was immense. Now she had no choice but to give it to him, but as she didn't have any better plans, she hurriedly obeyed James.
With a final tug, the strap worked free, and she secreted it in her palm, feeling the bunched up strap dig into her palm. She was walking close enough to James so that they were shielded; quickly she passed him the watch.
Staring fixedly ahead he worked on it, his fingers knowing the familiar buttons and functions of the watch, Ashleigh could only presume he was setting the explosive device that was wired into the dial. She swallowed, wondering what he had in mind, still they walked along the deck, but the next time they crossed one of the many grills that were set into the metal, James let the watch fall into the depths of the hull. Ashleigh heard it bounce against the metal bars, and then land somewhere deep below them with a hollow thunk.
Ashleigh glanced at the stony face of her godfather as they walked, his jaw was set, no emotion as betrayed upon his features, and she realised that he had faced hopeless situations many times before. It was his job, the double 0 agents always assigned the most dangerous of missions, sent in blindly, never knowing if they were going to return or not. It was a small comfort that James had returned many times before. If she had to be in this situation, then 007 wasn't a bad agent to be with. She only hoped that whatever plan he had up his sleeve was going to work.
Inside the ship everything was cold, clinical and metallic. It reminded Ashleigh of the research facility; even the faceless armed guards seemed familiar. The two agents were marched to the centre of a large control room, and surrounded by guards. Silently they waited, unsure of what was going to happen next.
Ashleigh had never laid eyes upon Caleb Deronda, and at first she didn't realise who the handsome man in front of her was. He walked towards the agents with his arms held wide, as if in welcome, or to prove that he wasn't armed. He smiled at Ashleigh, and she found herself hesitantly smiling back, her brow furrowed as she felt unfamiliar feelings course through her. She had been expecting an ogre, a monster, not this suited, classically handsome man, who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties. His brown hair had a tendency to curl, she noticed, and his eyes were a sludgy green. She had the sudden urge to laugh madly, and felt the room tip beneath her feet, only James grasping her arm stopped her from falling to her knees.
'007,' he said in greeting, polite and charming, a small smile on his face. He turned to Ashleigh. 'And this must be Agent Kain.'
Ashleigh nodded dumbly, feeling completely out of her depth once more. 'Pleasure to meet you both at last. I only wish it could have been in better circumstances, I have so many questions to ask you both.'
'Such as?' Bond was deliberately cold.
Deronda barely battered an eyelid as he turned back to Bond. 'I'm intrigued by many aspects of your work, 007, but one thing fascinates me is how you managed to escape my compound.'
'You already know the answer to that question, Deronda.'
'Yes, we do.' A clear, cool, crisp voice, with little trace of an accent rang out through the ship. On a metal walkway above them, a woman stood, blonde, petite and delicate. Her appearance disguised her true nature, as Bond knew only too well. She was looking down upon them with an expression of distaste on her pretty face.
